Reading aid or device

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a reading aid which is able to hold a book, of varying size and thickness, open in a natural reading position without the need for hands or other devices and comprises a non-linear, book supporting member each end of which is angled between 160 degrees and 60 degrees from the centre of said member with resilient asymmetric flexible left and right hand page retaining portions at opposite ends of said member which narrow along their length to less than a 12 point font size to fit between the text. Different book sizes are accommodated by different sized devices and a telescopic version. When not being used to read books the device wraps around the spine acting as a page mark.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a reading aid which is able to hold a book, of varying size and thickness, open in a natural reading position without the need for hands or other devices. The reading aid also functions as a page marker when the book is not in use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Upon opening a book, the potential energy in the spine of the book naturally causes it to close of its own accord. Likewise, once opened, the potential energy in the cover and pages also naturally causes the book to close.

There are three main positions one adopts when reading a book. The first position is to lie the spine of the book on a surface, e.g. a table top or the ground. This position supports the book and then enables it to be forced open with one or both hands to allow the text to be visible.

The second position is to force the book open with hands to reveal the text, followed by supporting the base of the spine on a surface, e.g. table top or knee, whilst keeping the book open with one or both hands or the use of other aids.

The third position is to force the book open with one or both hands to allow the text to be visible while supporting the book with one or both hands and/or arms.

There are many applications where a user finds keeping a book open whilst reading to be awkward and uncomfortable. Reading a book held open with hands or other aids can also be restrictive since invariably the pages are not flat and squarely presented to the eyes.

Whilst holding a book open, the hands and fingers need to exert a certain amount of force to prevent the book from closing and they therefore reduce the readable area of the page. Not only can this become uncomfortable both over short and long periods of time, but for both elderly and disabled, the force needed to keep a book open can also restrict their reading ability. Cramping in the hands is also a problem for some people when holding a book open for a prolonged period of time.

The use of other objects to keep the book open can reduce the readable area of the page and also prevent the turning of pages with ease.

When someone is reading, a marker is required to show the reader which page they are up to.

Other reading aids have been proposed, but these generally obscure text, damage the spine and the pages of the book by forcing the book open further than is naturally needed for reading. Known reading aids also require two-handed operation, lack adequate control of page tension and movement, and do not allow for expansion to increase the usability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, according to one aspect of the invention there is provided a reading aid comprising a non-linear, book supporting member having at each end a page retaining portion, said page retaining portions each having an outer surface and an inner, page contacting surface.

The advantage of the reading aid of the invention is that it not only keeps a book open without the need for hands or other devices but it also acts as a page marker when not in use to overcome the aforementioned problems.

The reading aid of the invention therefore provides a method of keeping a book open and supporting it without the need for hands or other non specific devices. They therefore provide the means for a more comfortable reading position which frees the hands up and does not require the use of other objects to hold the book open, only requiring the use of one hand to turn the page.

When not being used as a reading aid, the device wraps around the spine acting as a page mark. This has the advantage of providing a further function without the need for a further device or folding pages.

The non-linear book supporting member has the advantage of holding the book open in a natural reading position without force and thus does not damage the spine of the book. By contrast, known linear devices open the book flat and therefore hold the book in an unnatural position and tend to damage the spine.

It will be appreciated that the term “non-linear” is used to define a book supporting member which is not arranged along a straight line. Examples of such non-linear arrangements may have one or more (e.g. 1, 2 or 3) deviations from the linear along the length of the book supporting member. Preferably, the non-linear book supporting member has a V-shape at its central position.

In a second aspect of the invention there is provided, a reading aid comprising an extended elongate beam, that is bent along its length at least once having a left and right resilient and flexible page retaining portions at its opposite ends, each page retaining portion being a generally circular arc terminating on a resilient lead-in page contacting portion, the space between the page contacting portion of the left page retaining portion and the beam differing from the space between that of the right page retaining portion and the beam, the bent elongate beam, the page retaining portions and the page contacting portions all lying in the same plane and arranged so that, in use a book may be held in a open, reading position with its spine generally transverse to this plane.

In a third aspect of the invention there is provided, a reading aid comprising an extended elongate beam, that is bent along its length once and or more than once with resilient and flexible left and right hand page retaining portions of a generally round cross section, located at opposite ends of the beam, so that in use a book may be held in the open, reading position where the extended elongate beam being located adjacent and transverse to the spine and to the cover of the book, where each of the page retaining portions are in a folded form so that they extend around the cover and the pages of the book, initially in a generally upward direction then both curving inward and downward towards each other and towards the spine of the book, the page retaining portions further being asymmetrically spaced in a vertical plane, with respect to the transverse member; so that one page retaining portion is located further, vertically, away from the transverse beam than the other page retaining portion, the page retaining portions having a resilient lead-in page contacting portion.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the space between the page contacting surface on one page retaining portion and said non-linear book supporting member differs from the space between the page contacting surface on the other page retaining portion and said member.

The advantage of having differing spaces between the page contacting surfaces of each page retaining portion and the non-linear book supporting member is that the reading aid is able to hold a book of varying thickness at any point during the book. For example, this asymmetric reading aid has page retaining arms which create exacting pressures on the pages and the spine which controls the pages from just a few to half way through as multiple pages increase the thickness. Half-way through reading the book, the device is then rotated through 180 degrees and works in reverse.

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the page retaining portions are resilient and flexible. This has the advantage of enabling the reading aid to be suitable for a wide range of differing sized books.

In a yet further preferred embodiment, the page retaining portions are generally curved. This has the advantage of providing a lead-in portion for the edge of a turned page to be slid thereunder against a resilient bias.

In a yet further preferred embodiment, the page retaining portions are of flexible tail form and have a generally circular cross section.

In a yet further preferred embodiment, the page retaining portions narrow along their length, more preferably to a size less than a 12 point text font size. This has the advantage that the page retaining portions may be aligned on the pages of the book to fit between lines of text so as not to obscure any text. In an alternatively preferred embodiment, the page retaining portions are transparent. This feature also has the advantage of not obscuring any text.

In a yet further preferred embodiment, one or both page retaining portions are separable from the non-linear book supporting member.

In a yet further preferred embodiment, one or both page retaining portions are telescopically adjustable in length. This has the advantage of enabling the reading aid to be suitable for a wide range of differing sized books.

In a yet further preferred embodiment, each end of the non-linear book supporting member is angled in the range of between 160 degrees and 60 degrees from the centre of said member, more preferably between 150 degrees and 60 degrees. Preferably, the non-linear book supporting member may be hinged at or near its centre. It will be appreciated that the hinge may either be integral or may be an addition to the non-linear book supporting member. Preferably, the hinged points may incorporate a friction or snap fit or catch mechanism. This feature has the advantage of controlling the angle of the non-linear book supporting member.

In a yet further preferred embodiment, the non-linear book supporting member has a rectangular, V, X or circular shaped cross section. Preferably, this cross section changes along its length.

It will be appreciated that the reading aid of the invention may be constructed from a single piece or may consist of more than one piece linked together. Preferably the reading aid is constructed from a resilient plastics or metal material having a shape memory.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a plan, end and side view of a reading aid of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a technical representation of a reading aid of the invention and includes angles and dimensions in millimeters.

FIG. 3 shows a reading aid of the invention in use with a book.

FIGS. 4-7 show a variety of reading aids of the invention having differing embodiments of non-linear book supporting members and page retaining portions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a reading aid of the invention is shown having a non-linear book supporting member 1 which is angled mid-way along its length 2 towards each end 3,4 of the support member 1. The support member 1 runs in a transverse direction to the spine of the book and is of a width that allows the open book to fit within the maximum length of the reading device.

The cross section of the support member 1 changes to a U-shape at each end 3,4 and terminates in curved end pieces forming page retaining arms 5,6 which protrude vertically and are narrow in cross section 15,16. These page retaining arms 5,6 then turn inwardly 7,8 narrowing in cross section 17,18 whilst changing in cross section to elliptical and then downward in a curve 9,10 towards the centre of the support member 1. The ends of the page retaining arms 5,6 then turn upward, terminating 11,12 in a rounded cross section 13,14 and rounded ends 19,20. This narrowing of cross section creates flexibility in the arms.

FIG. 1 shows a distinct difference in the left hand page retaining arm 5 and the right hand page retaining arm 6 due to the different forces required to control the pages of a book through the actions of reading. The left arm 5 is longer and vertically shorter than the right 6 and thus the space 21 between the page contacting surface of the left hand page retaining arm 5 and the support member 1 is less than the space 22 between the page contacting surface of the right hand page retaining arm 6 and the support member.

In use, FIG. 3-3A shows a schematic diagram of how the reading aid of the invention may be employed during the reading of a book from start to finish. For example, at the beginning of the book (wherein the left hand side is narrower in thickness than the right hand side) the reading aid is positioned such that the end of the reading aid with the smaller space between the page contacting surface of the page retaining arm and the support member is positioned on the left hand side.

Upon reaching the middle of the book the device is then rotated through 180 degrees such that the end of the reading aid with the larger space between the page contacting surface of the page retaining arm and the support member is positioned on the left. This movement reflects the fact that, after being more than half-way through a book, it is thicker on the left hand side.

FIGS. 4-4C shows a variety of differing embodiments of non-linear book supporting members. For example, the upper embodiment shows a reading aid with just a single deviation from linear, the second embodiment shows a reading aid with two deviations from linear and the lower two embodiments show a reading aid with three deviations from linear.

FIGS. 5-5D shows a variety of differing embodiments of page retaining portions. For example, the upper three embodiments show a reading aid with just one telescopic page retaining portion and the lower three embodiments show a reading aid with two telescopic page retaining portions. The dotted lines and arrows in this Figure are intended to convey the extending and retracting movement of the page retaining arms. This movement enhances the applicability of the reading aid to differing sizes of book.

FIGS. 6-6C shows an embodiment of the invention wherein the non-linear book supporting member is hinged and both page retaining portions are telescopic. The arrows in this figure are intended to convey the extending and retracting movement of the page retaining arms and the pivoting nature of the hinged support member to allow the reading aid to be folded away compactly for storage purposes.

FIGS. 7-7B shows a variety of embodiments wherein the non-linear support member is hinged at one point, hinged at multiple points (e.g. 3) or is not hinged but is constructed of resilient, flexible material and conveys a memory (e.g. upon release, always returns to the same configuration). 

1. A reading aid comprising a non-linear, book supporting member having at each end a page retaining portion, said page retaining portions each having an outer surface and an inner, page contacting surface.
 2. A reading aid as defined in claim 1 wherein the space between the page contacting surface on one page retaining portion and said non-linear, book supporting member differs from the space between the page contacting surface on the other page retaining portion and said member.
 3. A reading aid as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said page retaining portions are resilient.
 4. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claims wherein said page retaining portions are curved.
 5. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim wherein said page retaining portions have a circular cross section.
 6. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim wherein said page retaining portions narrow along their length.
 7. A reading aid as defined in claim 6 wherein said page retaining portions narrow to a size less than a 12 point text font size.
 8. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim wherein one or both page retaining portions are separable from the non-linear book supporting member.
 9. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim wherein one or both page retaining portions are telescopically adjustable in length.
 10. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim wherein each end of the non-linear book supporting member is angled in the range of between 160 degrees and 60 degrees from the centre of said member.
 11. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim wherein the non-linear book supporting member may be hinged at or near its centre.
 12. A reading aid as defined in claim 11 wherein the hinge is integral.
 13. A reading aid as defined in claim 10 where the hinge is an addition to the non-linear book supporting member.
 14. A reading aid as defined in any of claims 11 to 13 wherein the hinged points may incorporate a friction or snap fit or catch mechanism.
 15. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim wherein the non-linear book supporting member has a rectangular, V, X or circular shaped cross section.
 16. A reading aid as defined in claim 15 wherein said cross section changes along its length.
 17. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim that consists of more than one piece linked together.
 18. A reading aid as defined in any preceding claim which is constructed from a resilient plastic or metal material having a shape memory. 